Neuroscience
by Fury Seven Kerrigan
Summary: Written for Sickbay Month. An unknown quantity haunts Enterprise, leaving its' occupants at a loss to know what to do.
1. Part One

Disclaimer... seriously, we all know it.

Written for Sickbay Month

Set in Series 3, after 'Impulse'.

Electrolysis- chemical decomposition produced by passing an electric current through a conducting liquid.

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Neuroscience

It began with a faint buzzing in the depths of her ears and a tingly sensation on the back of her neck.

As Hoshi fine-tuned her console to try and distinguish what the disturbance was, she felt the oppressive rise of blood pumping through her temples and the rushing sound which came combined with the increase of blood pressure in her ears making her feel quite nauseous.

Suddenly, the noise flared into a piercing attack on her senses, the shock of it sending her vision into a bright light, diminishing into sparks and strange swirling patterns before lessening to black as she slipped quietly off her chair.

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Hoshi's silent form lay on a biobed in Sickbay, completely unaware that she was surrounded by Doctor Phlox, Captain Archer, and Sub-Commander T'Pol with Crewman Cutler not too far away, assisting Phlox with his treatment of the patient.

At that specific moment, not long after Hoshi had collapsed on the Bridge, Phlox was telling Archer and T'Pol what he had found so far.

"Apart from a list of symptoms which Ensign Sato is being afflicted with, I cannot tell you what exactly is wrong with her I'm afraid Captain. I have never seen anything like this before in any patient I've had, no matter what the species."

"But can you treat her?" Archer interjected forcefully.

Phlox took a breath in, and another one after that. He rested his hands on the biobed, leaning slightly upon them and looking at his patient before answering.

"I will treat her as best I can Captain, but if I tell you her symptoms, you will understand why I must be cautious before I try anything, especially as this is unknown ground to me."

He moved around to the head of the biobed and raised his left hand to the monitor above Hoshi's head which was carefully measuring her vitals. Archer came up next to him, sparing a glance at Hoshi's peaceful face before examining the colourful wavy lines and bars on the screen.

T'Pol stayed at Hoshi's feet, where she could view both the young Ensign, the worried fatherly Captain, and the Doctor- as confused as she'd ever seen him before. She mostly wanted to stay away from the close presence of Captain Archer, a man who seemed to be able to sense her moods far too well for a human, and it had not been very long since she had been in the Sickbay herself since the -unsettling- episode of seeing her fellow Vulcans and herself under the influence of forces outside their control.

Her gaze focused as she heard Phlox speaking to the Captain. Now was not the time to lose one's composure nor to 'daydream', as she had caught her fellow human shipmates doing on occasion.

"Now Captain," she heard Phlox say, "do bear in mind that when the Vulcans warned us about the dangers of the Expanse, I insisted that the entire crew have a complete physical so that could closely monitor each individual, should anything untoward happen."

Archer flinched in remembrance. "Yes I do Doctor. A complete physical." He shifted his shoulders squeamishly and folded his arms before him.

Phlox gave a small hint of one of his usual smiles, but his non-understanding of Ensign Sato's case was troubling him too much for him to take any real humour in the Captain's discomfort. So he carried on with his list of symptoms instead, much to Archer's thankfulness.

"So here Captain, if I bring this screen online, you will be able to see exactly what I mean when I tell you what is happening." He unfolded and swung around a secondary screen, which fitted in the area underneath the main biobed screen which was showing Hoshi's present condition. The waves and bars on the secondary screen were much more active.

"This smaller screen shows Ensign Sato's normal readings, and the main screen shows her readings at this present moment in time. Her symptoms are serious Captain, you must understand this. From what you and the other Bridge crew have told me you saw before she collapsed, Ensign Sato seemed to have developed a static electrical field about her person beforehand. What the main screen shows is that she seems to have a total shutdown of her body's electrical synapses and consequently, her nervous system has collapsed."

He pointed towards a single dead line in the centre of the screen.

"This line shows her brain activity. As you can see, it is nil."

He pointed to the secondary screen. "This is what it should be- a hive of activity. Her brain has shut down. I believe this happened on the Bridge, and so her body collapsed, unable to receive any signals from the brain."

He stopped to give Archer a moment to take it all in. The Captain had gone pale and very still. Yet he still managed to open his mouth to ask, very quietly, "Is she going to die Doctor?"

Phlox turned from the two screens to look Archer dead in the eye. "She should already be dead Captain, that is why I am more confused than upset at Ensign Sato's condition. She is alive, very much so, but she is more in a very deep coma."

Archer flung his hands away from him as if he could no longer contain himself. He took a step towards the Doctor, then stopped and turned towards the unmoving screen, blaming it inwardly for its' cursed readings. He swung back to the Doctor- "She is a vegetable! No matter what, I can't think of a single person who would even for the smallest moment, be content to live their lives as completely mindless, especially when that mind was so brilliant before- just like Hoshi!"

Phlox placed his hand on Archer's right shoulder firmly rather than sympathetically. "Captain, Ensign Sato was in perfect health. There was absolutely no reason whatsoever for her to just suddenly collapse suffering a complete cerebral shutdown. When it is not natural, there must therefore be a cause, and I will not rest until I examine Ensign Sato completely and find such a cause. And once there is a cause, then we can find the cure. I promise you Captain."

Archer lifted his eyes to Phlox's and saw the sincerity and nodded gratefully. He almost jumped when T'Pol spoke from where she hadn't moved at all at the end of the biobed.

"The Doctor is correct Captain. I suggest that Commander Tucker examines Ensign Sato's console in detail to find a cause there. I and the science teams will examine this area of the Expanse to find anything that may have contributed."

Phlox removed his hand from Archer and turned to Liz Cutler telling her which instruments should be prepared for the examinations and various tests as he went to retrieve medical journals and essays from his collection which may prove useful, as well as several new PADDs to write his notes upon.

Archer took one last look at Hoshi whose expression hadn't changed at all, and he left with T'Pol.

At the turbolift, they parted, her to the Bridge to begin the coordination of the researchers on board. Archer went to the Armoury to find Malcolm.

He found him doing a routine check and clean on the rifles. As he neared though, he saw that while Malcolm was doing an excellent job as usual, he wasn't really concentrating on the matter at hand. He seemed to be a million miles away. Or maybe not even that far- maybe only the short distance to sickbay. On the Bridge, Malcolm had had a full view of Hoshi as she had collapsed, and the man had seemed more than a little spooked as Hoshi had started giving off little blue sparks between her finger tips and her controls at the console which they hovered over before keeling over. Malcolm didn't make a move to turn to his Captain even when Archer was standing right behind him, so he cleared his throat. Malcolm jumped and spun around, eyes wide, arms bent. He came to attention immediately, forgetting that he was still holding a greasy cloth.

"At ease Malcolm," Archer said. "I've come to ask you to do a thorough scan of space as far as you can. See if you can find anything that might be a threat, anything at all that might have precipitated Hoshi's illness. Do anything you can- we won't be leaving this area until we can find our answers."

"I'll get right on it right away Captain," Malcolm replied, beginning to move to a console to start and Archer turned to leave to return to the Bridge. Malcolm stopped just as quickly as he'd begun though. "Captain, if I may..." he began. Archer turned back towards him.

"Yes Malcolm?"

Malcolm hesitated, not wanting even after all his time on _Enterprise_ to overstep the mark with any sort of intimacy with his commanding officer. "Ensign Sato, if I may enquire on her health, how was she?"

Archer grimaced, his emotions plain on his face as ever, but in recent time, a grimace and a frown had lined his warm features too much. "She's not doing well Malcolm, but there is still hope. Phlox says she's in a coma, but we'll do everything we can for her."

Malcolm lifted his head. "Yes Sir, we will. I'll get on to that job right now, thankyou Captain."

The last thing Archer heard was Malcolm giving a security team orders to patrol the ship thoroughly for any onboard threats which might have unknowingly come on to the ship.

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It was the middle of ship's night and a hushed silence had settled upon _Enterprise_, although several of its' inhabitants weren't sleeping, but going about their duties.

In the dimmed light of Sickbay, Phlox was dictating his findings and thoughts of Hoshi's condition to the computer. He was settled in the chair next to the desk with PADDs spread out before him filled with notes and extracts from journals he'd found. He knew he had to move fast, so he hadn't left Sickbay since Ensign Sato had been brought to him. It showed in the numerous plates and half-eaten meals around him. Crewman Cutler had offered to return them to the kitchen, but Phlox had refused, wanting her instead to help him medically. He was grateful that his species needed little sleep, he had to find both the cause and the cure still- if there was even a cure to be found- before the electrolysis of the cerebral cortex and when therefore there would be no hope for the Ensign at all.

He paused the computer and picked up a sandwich which Crewman Grieves from the Mess had brought him. He took a bite as he scrolled through the computer screen, looking through what he'd dictated thus far.

A slice of tomato fell out of the sandwich and on to Phlox's lap, but he didn't notice as he leant forwards, noticing something which he'd stupidly missed before. His old tutor would have been appalled, for his student to miss such a glaring beacon.

He knew all along that the problem was electrical- the static field developing while she had still been conscious and every synapse and electrical field in her body shutting down. Whilst doing tests on her station on the Bridge, Commander Tucker had reported to him and to the Captain that the entire console had appeared to have suffered what the Commander had called an 'EMP' attack- an electromagnetic pulse- although 'fried' had been the word used to describe it to the Doctor, but Phlox had got the picture adequately enough. Put bluntly, something had happened to shut down all the broadband electrical circuitry which was in use within a certain area, which happened to have Hoshi's console on the Bridge and consequently, Ensign Sato herself.

The more he looked, the more he realised that the answer had been there the whole time- he knew exactly how to cure Hoshi.

He got up, without stopping to write down his discovery, nor even to pick up the tomato slice which fell on to the floor, to retrieve the machine needed. It was all so simple. If Phlox had known the expression, he would have been kicking himself as he set up the machine to Hoshi. As it was, he was doing the Denobulan equivalent to himself.

He attached the headset to her, but retracted his hand quickly as he received an electric shock. He flinched, but thought nothing of it as he went over to the cold-storage unit and took out a capped test tube sample, until he felt a faint buzzing in the depths of his ears and a tingly sensation on the back of his neck, followed by an oppressive rise of blood pumping through his temples and the rushing sound which came combined with the increase of blood pressure in his ears making him feel quite nauseous. Suddenly, as with Hoshi, the noise flared into a piercing attack on his senses, the shock of it sending his vision into a bright light, diminishing into sparks and strange swirling patterns before lessening to black as he lost control of his body, dropping the test tube and fell to the floor beside the biobed.

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Liz Cutler walked into Sickbay at the beginning of her shift at 0700 hours, rolling her eyes as she saw the tomato slice which was still sitting on the floor near the Sickbay desk.

No sign of Doctor Phlox though as she moved through the room, though she did notice that some of the animals were squawking, chirping, and generally making the amount of noise they would normally after having not been fed recently. She frowned, moving over to them and made a shushing noise towards the bat's cage in a comforting sort of way, absently stroking the bars as she looked around for the doctor- he was usually so attentive to their needs. It was very unlike him to be late in feeding them.

She saw that Ensign Sato's medbay curtain was slightly ajar- Doctor Phlox was also usually extremely careful about about his patients' privacy, even if they were unconscious and wouldn't have known anyway whether they had privacy or not. Their waking state wasn't the point.

She moved over to the medbay, flexing her fingers as she did so in self-consciousness, glad that no one had seen her stroking a cage, and looked around the curtain.

She gasped as she saw Doctor Phlox lying on the floor, totally unconscious.

She hurried to his side and rolled him on to his back, noting the floor patterns engrained into his cheek showing he'd been there a while.

She checked his pulse, was relieved to find one, moved him on to his side again, and then hurried over to the Comm panel to call for Captain Archer.

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The scene was eerily familiar as Archer and T'Pol stood around Phlox's biobed as Cutler explained the exact same symptoms for him that Phlox had done for Hoshi.

Phlox was lying on his own biobed now rather than the floor, having been lifted bodily the Sub-Commander. Cutler still had difficulty believing that such a slight woman could have so much strength.

Cutler finished telling the two officers the exact same symptoms as she'd found them- they were identical to Ensign Sato's in every way, and then she held out the test tube which had been on the floor near Doctor Phlox.

"I found this, apparently dropped by the Doctor, although what he was doing with it, I really couldn't say." Archer picked it out of her hand, looked at it, turning it over a couple of times, before conceding defeat and handing it to T'Pol who read the label on the side. It was labelled in medical jargon, which is why Archer had found it indistinguishable from many other test tubes he'd held before, but as a scientist, T'Pol recognised the markings, combined with the date marked on the tube as well- a date which had been quite momentous on the _Enterprise_.

She looked at Cutler.

"This is a sample from the cyborg humans which were discovered in Antarctica."

Cutler nodded, "Yes Sub-Commander, but I don't know why it might be useful. I can't see Doctor Phlox doing the spring cleaning while trying to work out Ensign Sato's cure, so he must have wanted it for something. The only thing I can think of is that he told me that these nanobacteria, or nanobots as the he called them, had the ability to heal the host- rebuild them as it were- and that medically, they had massive potential. But he said that this was technology which was vastly superior to ours, and we most likely wouldn't understand it for years to come. The other effects that came with being injected with these nanobots- hearing voices, losing ones' individuality, that sort of thing- made using these without years- decades even- of hard study and research completely impossible."

Archer seemed a little blank at the terminology, this really wasn't his strong point, but he did remember several of the terms from the report that Phlox had given at the time the cyborgs were on _Enterprise_. It had been terrifying to read, especially considering that it had been their own Doctor Phlox as well as the team from Antarctica which had been inflicted.

Though they were standing around Phlox's biobed, they had come in to see him laying by Hoshi's bed, and Archer recalled seeing a machine attached to her head. He inclined his head towards the direction of Hoshi's bed whilst still looking at Cutler. "What is that machine that's on Ensign Sato's head?"

Cutler looked at him for a moment. "Oh yes Sir- that is an Electrocorticogram. It records the electrical activity of the brain by using electrodes- that is what those things are plugged in to her head at various points."

"I thought that that was what the main screen was for above each biobed. Hoshi's screen shows no activity in her brain at all." Archer said, a slight frown appearing on his forehead.

"Well yes sir, but the brain is such a delicate instrument itself, that every care has to be taken when working on it, even in this day and age. The Electrocorticogram is a highly specific machine which uses electroencephalography. This, Sir, is the measurement and recording of electrical activity in different parts of the brain. It is very exact. Unfortunately Captain, that is as much as I can tell you. Neuroscience is not my field at all."

T'Pol immediately turned away from Cutler and towards Archer instead. "Captain, I am willing assist Crewman Cutler in further investigation. The science teams are capable of surveying the area of space we are in now quite well without my overseeing of them. Between the Crewman and myself, I am sure we will find the answer much faster than we might otherwise."

Archer and T'Pol both turned to Crewman Cutler who smiled and said "I would very much appreciate the help."

Archer nodded, "Alright then, get to it. Anything you need, just ask. I will be in my Ready Room, sending an update to Starfleet."

T'Pol came around the biobed, allowing Cutler to leave the curtained area first, and they made their way towards Phlox's messy desk, still with the forgotten tomato slice sitting on the floor, to try and sort their way through his notes and musings.

"I guess it would be most useful to start with the computer recordings- it's still paused." Cutler said, "it probably has the last things Phlox noted before he fell ill too."

T'Pol nodded her assent, as Liz commanded the computer to rewind and replay itself.

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"The thing I can't work out Sub-Commander, is if Doctor Phlox was really going to use the nanobots on Ensign Sato. They're so dangerous." Liz said to T'Pol, who was studying the notes Phlox had made on yet another PADD. She looked up at her human companion, who was in turn looking towards the cold-storage unit where the rogue test tube had been replaced.

T'Pol looked over too, then returned her gaze to Liz. "As we do not know what it was the Doctor was planning to do, I suggest we search through the entirety of his findings thus far."

Liz nodded in concurrence, then picked up another PADD, yawning as she did. This didn't escape T'Pol's attention. "Crewman Cutler, it is late. You would be more efficient if you returned to your quarters for a rest."

"But what about you?"

T'Pol held her gaze, unwavering. "Vulcans do not require as much rest as humans do. I shall carry on the research and brief you in the morning if I have found anything of use. Goodnight Crewman," she said, cutting off any further argument, although Liz was beyond arguing, exhausted as she was.

"Goodnight Sub-Commander."

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T'Pol waited for fifteen standard minutes after Crewman Cutler had left Sickbay before leaving the PADD on Phlox's desk and making her way over to Ensign Sato. There was a technique known to Vulcans that she had wanted to try that might have an effect, but she was disinclined to try it in front of any human. Alone now, she placed her hands on Ensign Sato's face. While she was not experienced enough to achieve a full mind-meld, she had read enough about the actual procedure after her experience with Tolaris and the 'free' Vulcans to attempt to use it for some good.

If she was honest with herself, she was feeling an almost-fear at the remembrance of her first mind-meld, but she pushed it aside and controlled all her thoughts and emotions as her teacher had shown her so many years before.

She didn't know what she might find in Ensign Sato's mind, if anything, but she wanted to achieve more than reading the PADDs seemed to be doing. She 'reached' into Hoshi's mind- and hit a void. But it wasn't a void- there was a voice, tiny and small amidst the suppressing nothingness- but it was there! She felt something almost like triumph, and then the Vulcan in her remembered that that was an emotion and should be controlled. She pushed towards the voice, still so tiny, but something held her back, and as it did, it started to pull her rapidly away from the voice, as a bright light attacked her senses, the short hairs on the back of her neck tickled her, and that was the last thing she felt before she too joined the ranks of the unconscious in Sickbay.

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	2. Part Two

My apologies for the ridiculous amount of time I've taken to finish this- especially as when I posted the first part, I had only a few thousand words left to write! You'd never believe how extraordinarily busy I've been recently, so please forgive me.

I now give you part two...

Neuroscience Part Two

Trip Tucker was making his way down one of the access tubes on the lower levels of _Enterprise_ with a toolbox in hand to see to some of the circuitry down there which had been shorting out in recent times. This particular circuit was of relatively minor importance- it was a part of the temperature control for the showers on board- but Trip for one was fed up of the water suddenly going freezing cold halfway through. It wasn't the first time though, and bizarrely, he reflected, the incidents seemed mostly to coincide with Hoshi falling ill in the first place.

He'd been to visit her just before Phlox fell ill too and had mentioned this to the doctor, who had seemed very interested, mumbling something in semi-sentences about electrical circuits. Forgetting Trip was even there, he had turned to his desk, searching out PADDs and notes, chatting away to the computer. Trip almost pitied that computer, having to listen to the ever-talkative Phlox.

Trip patted the walls affectionately as he walked down to the panel he was searching for and, taking out the tools he needed, he proceeded to work.

As he did, dim though it was down there on the rarely used part of the ship, he still noticed when the lights flickered, dimming more than usual for a second or two, then returning to their original light.

He looked around, making a mental note to stop by that particular panel to check up on that circuit too before he returned to Engineering.

He finished his job on the shower temperature unit, replaced the panel, and stood up, putting away all his tools in the box. As he did, the lights turned off completely for some seconds, then turned back on half-heartedly, then turned off again, this time staying off.

Trip raised his eyebrows in surprise when the emergency lighting didn't come on automatically. He made his way back to Engineering, knowing instinctively where to go- he knew the insides of the ship better than anyone else. That didn't stop him from holding his hand out in front of him, just in case.

It was just as well he did, because once back out in the corridors, he came across a couple of confused crewmen trying to find their way around.

"Commander, what's happening? We were in the Gym and the power went- we had to force open the doors." One of them asked him, once they realised who it was.

"It's the middle of the night- if you're not meant to be on duty, return to your quarters, then we're less likely to have any accidents."

"Aye Sir," two voices replied.

He found his way to Engineering finally, reaching above the door to the small access panel up there to use the manual opening- a small handle that turned to crank open the door. From the angle he was at, even as tall as he was, it was hard going. He made a quick note to recommend to future ships being made that the manual opening was put in a better place.

Having opened the door, he felt his way through Engineering to hear several people working, but not in an overly panicked way. There was also light in here, thankfully- someone had found and opened a pack of glowsticks and lanterns from the emergency supplies. Trip made his way over to Hess, who was giving out orders in her COs absence.

"Hess! What's goin' on?" He demanded.

"Commander you're back! Great. We have no real idea. You know when we stripped down Ensign Sato's console and you figured it was like and EMP attack in a specific area?"

He nodded, "Uh huh,"

"Well, it's like that, only for the whole of the ship, so far as we can see. All the lights are off, communications, doors, you name it. From what we can tell, every system on Enterprise is down, including the engines and weapons. Lieutenant Reed is probably having a fit," she smiled, "but then, I can't imagine even the Captain taking it that well either."

"Well then Hess," Trip said, taking control from her, "first step is to open as many doors as we can. Every one has a manual, so most people should be able to do it themselves, but take a team to make sure. While you're at it, break out as many supplies of lights as there are around the ship. Stop by the most necessary places first- Bridge, Sickbay, those places, then work outwards. We'll need people, and their will be lots in their quarters, it being night an' all. I'll stay here and work on getting lights sorted first, see if we can't get us some sight."

"Aye Sir," she agreed. She called over six crewmen her way, and left Engineering with them in tow.

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Hours later, and the electrics on board _Enterprise_ had stubbornly refused to come back from the oblivion which they had disappeared to, causing much swearing from the direction of Trip who had been doing his utmost to sort out his beloved ship.

Hess and her team had done their job well, explaining to everyone as they went around opening doors and lighting the way what the situation was and generally made sure that there was no widespread panic.

Hess was back in Engineering now, telling Trip how it was looking generally around the ship- pretty much the same as Engineering. She did say though that she and her team had come across several people who were now unconscious in the same way that Ensign Sato and Doctor Phlox were. At first, she had someone from the team take them to Sickbay, but as they discovered more and more people, they realised they couldn't possibly take them all there, and so left them in their cabins instead, tucked up in bed.

"I did drop by Sickbay though Sir," Hess was explaining to him, "and there was no-one there, except the patients. I saw Sub-Commander T'Pol lying on the floor- seems she also got the illness. We put her on a biobed."

Trip actually stopped what he was doing with some schematics of the ship and looked at her. "How many people did you find, exactly?"

"Too many Commander. Anyone who was in bed when it happened seems to be awake and okay, same with everyone in Engineering and a couple of people in the gym, but everyone else- even the people on the Bridge are all unconscious. It's bizarre."

Trip considered. "That _is _crazy- if you hadn't said the Bridge, I'd have guessed it was an insulation thing- you know, against electric shocks- but the Bridge is one of the most insulated places on the ship."

Hess made a slight gasping noise- "Actually Sir-"

"What is it?" Trip said, wondering if she was getting ill too. Hess looked embarrassed in the dim light. "When we got to the observation deck, we looked out the viewport, just to check up on if there was anything out there we could see, being as the sensors are all down and we can't use those to scan the area, and there were thousands of little static electric shocks going all over the ship- millions maybe, of tiny little currents of electricity running all over, and some in the immediate spatial area too. We seem to have hit what looks like a cloud- all sparkly."

"A cloud?" Trip asked. "T'Pol said we were coming up on a miniature nebula a couple of weeks back. She didn't see anything harmful about it, and we should have passed it by now anyway."

"Well Commander, I think it's time I took over from you for a while. Why don't you get something to eat- it's been a while since you ate I think, and the Mess hall is open again now, although Chef is one of the unconscious ones, so you might have to make yourself something."

Trip looked down at his hand which had a small patch of dried blood on from where he'd accidentally stabbed himself with a screwdriver earlier, and nodded his agreement. He couldn't do much when tired. Besides, he reasoned with himself, he could drop in on some people in Sickbay- see how bad it was really.

"I'll be back soon Hess," he said going out the door.

"G'night Sir," Hess called after him, already working her way through the specs he'd been looking at himself.

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Trip decided to go to Sickbay first as he couldn't really find the energy in himself to make himself something to eat, and besides, he wanted to see those who were in Sickbay. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't especially concerned when Hess had mentioned T'Pol though. He walked through the half-opened doors of Sickbay to see a blurry-eyed Cutler working on Phlox's notes. Now the computer was down, she was back to almost square one again using his original notes from the PADDs. Trip wandered over to her.

"How's it lookin'?" He asked when she didn't acknowledge his presence there to the side of her.

She might have jumped in surprise if she hadn't been so tired. Evidently, she had been sound asleep at the time when Hess and her team woke her up, Trip guessed.

"Awful," she said as she gave a huge yawn. "Sorry Sir," she blushed. "Bit sleepy still."

"Know how you feel," Trip returned. "Whatcha got so far?"

"Not enough. Doctor Phlox knew that the problem was electrical, and that it affects the brain and the nervous system, knocking the body out because of it. When Hess woke me up, she said that most people on _Enterprise_ were unconscious now, but I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea about where this starts or how to go on. If its electrical, how does it seem to spread from person to person? If it was airborne, surely I would have caught the illness an age ago, seeing as I was around Ensign Sato from when she was first brought in. Everyone on the ship drinks the same water and eats the same food. We use the same consoles and equipment, and I'm sure it isn't about touch either. I'm flummoxed Commander."

Trip leant back against the wall next to the desk, arms folded. "I think we need a drink and something to eat then to wake us both up. We'll have a brainstorm. Do we have a list of the unconscious already?"

Liz turned around back to the desk, shuffling through the PADDs in front of her. She reached for one underneath a small pile, looked at it for a second, then passed it to Trip. "Here you are- Hess made the list offhand when she was here. Most people are on it. Typical that the Captain should have decided that the Alpha-shift crew should feel what it is like to work through ship's night the other week- they're all unconscious too."

Trip glanced through the list, the thumb of his right hand worrying the fabric on the seam of his jumpsuit unknowingly. There were a lot of names- Jon, T'Pol, Malcolm, and Travis were all on it, Hoshi and Phlox already unconscious. Hess had even put which room they had been found in next to their names- Sickbay... Messhall... corridors... Bridge... his breath caught in his throat. He realised exactly what it was that he'd said to Hess before when she had returned to Engineering with her report- _if you hadn't said the Bridge, I'd have guessed it was an insulation thing_.

"Gaaaahhhhhhhh!!" he exclaimed, slapping his hand to his forehead. "Idiot!"

Liz looked at him from where she had stood up to get a drink with him, "What is it Sir? Are you okay?" She reached out for him, afraid he was going to collapse from an attack of some kind. She did jump this time when he turned to her and grabbed her shoulder-

"We left Earth early!! Insulation!" He grinned a massive grin at her, and dived for Phlox's notes, picking them up and flicking through them quickly. Liz came around to his side.

"What is it? What are you looking for?"

Trip stopped for a minute and looked at her. "You remember way back on our first mission, we left Earth early coz of that Klingon and not every system was totally finished? I can't believe I missed this- please don't tell Mal, else I'll never live it down-" he was talking fast now, and half to himself- "well the insulation was one of the things that hadn't been completely done. It was done in Engineering, that's why everyone was okay when I went there first. It was done in the access tubes where all the major systems run, and everybody in bed is insulated because of the rubber comfort mattresses- you could even say it was done in the Gym because of all the rubber mats there for training and stuff, but the Bridge was unfinished! It _is_ electrical, and five'll get you ten it's something to do with that electrical cloud outside- and its spread by our own ship- without the insulation, our bodies absorb it the wildfire. What a complete idiot!" he shook his head at himself.

Liz was as wide awake now as Trip was, and both were as excited as each other at the prospect that they might be on to a lead. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

Trip considered for a moment, calming slightly. "Weeell, I think that we need to ionise the hull with the same polarisation as that cloud out there which should get rid of _that_,"

"-like magnets?"

Trip nodded, "Yup, north to north, south to south- put the same together and they push apart. It'll be a bit trial and error without any sensors, but it's totally doable. After that, we can jump-start _Enterprise_, which should get her going again. Once the cloud's gone, we could jump-start all the crew, as it were, but that's your department." He smiled at her. "Won't be much help, but I'll give ya a hand if you like?"

Liz nodded and smiled back. "Thanks Commander, I'll need all the help I can get."

Trip clapped his hands together. "Okay then- let's get this thing started! Care to join me in Engineering? Then you can see how this jump-start'll work."

"Love to."

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Crewman Erikson had handed everyone in Engineering with communicators by the time Trip and Liz had arrived there, which meant that Trip could send a team to the observation deck and have them report back on what the cloud outside was doing as the crew in Engineering made their blind tests to try and dispel it.

They reported in the meantime that _Enterprise_ seemed to be adrift, floating whilst surrounded by a sparkly mass which would have been utterly breathtaking and would have proven to everyone their reason for humans struggling for so many centuries to see the stars, had it not been for the majority of the crew unconscious because of it.

It took several hours of testing the ionisation at various frequencies, but they were finally able to drive off the cloud which, according the team at the observation deck, dissipated once it had left proximity of _Enterprise_, perhaps because it had nothing left to sustain it with was one theory being thrown around. This was a popular belief as it would explain why, though they passed the cloud a while ago, it was still with them- _Enterprise_ itself was giving it the ability to exist, though how it began in the first place, and why it had only recently begun to have an adverse effect was anyone's guess.

Gradually, the Engineering teams managed to restore order to the ship by jump-starting the engines, and then took some time to warm them up again so that the computers and lights could by turned back on. As soon as the electrics had returned, many mugs of coffee were poured out as by now, the few people who were left had been working pretty much constantly for well over a day.

The next challenge was to help the victims.

It was one thing to jump-start a mechanical engine, but quite another thing to jump-start a human brain, Liz was telling Trip over an espresso in Sickbay.

"I don' agree with you there- the engines are the brains behind the ship. A hundred years ago, Enterprise's engines would have seemed as complicated to humans as brains are to us now. Who knows what we'll learn in another hundred years. It's all technology, just one is made from metal and one is biological."

Liz winced slightly as she contemplated the dilemma. She shifted in her seat. "I guess the best idea would be to try and wake up Doctor Phlox and then Sub-Commander T'Pol first, as they can think up better plans of action. Course, if we manage to wake them up successfully, then we probably won't need another plan, but it would be nice to have someone with a higher medical knowledge around." She sighed, which turned into a yawn.

Trip rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Well now, if I remember rightly my history of the third world war, when those electrical cannons were bein' used to take out the enemies' weapons and stuff, I'm sure I read somewhere that a soldier got hit by one of 'em and was still alive, but unconscious, and they needed to use some kinda electro-surgery on 'im."

"Electroconvulsive surgery, specially modified along the same frequency as the cannons were modulated at- yes I remember!" Liz cried.

"An' so _theoretically_, all we need to do is use the same kinda electric-doodah surgery as they did back then, using the same frequency as we did to get rid o' that cloud out there, which is the easy part seein' as we've already done that bit, and it'll all be okay!" Trip slammed his fist down on the sideboard in a final sort of gesture.

Liz shook her head. "But that soldier wasn't completely alright after the surgery- sure, he was himself, but he needed a lot of therapy and physio to sort him out. It took months. We don't have months- Doctor Phlox said that Ensign Sato's brain would begin electrolysis soon if we couldn't help her. It may have already started for all I know." She finished her espresso, staring off in the direction of the biobeds, but without seeing them.

Trip reached out, putting his hand on her shoulder, making her turn to look at him. "That's why we've no choice- loadsa physio if we don't, but they'll be alive, or them either bein' dead or in a vegetable state from now on. I know which one I'd rather have."

Liz looked at him searchingly. "Yes, me too Commander. I spose we had better get on with it."

Trip smiled at her reassuringly, "Atta girl- we'll all be okay yet. I'll disappear to Engineering- will quickly check up on 'em, and get that frequency we need. You had best prepare our patient," he said, starting towards the doors.

"Ay sir, and thankyou- I wouldn't have remembered that soldier's case on my own. I'll get the doctor prepped."

Trip mock-saluted her with a grin and left, calling as he did- "You know you'd have thought of it- you're gonna be a damn fine doctor, otherwise Phlox wouldn't have had ya'"

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A day later, Liz and Trip were back in Sickbay monitoring the results of the surgery they had performed on Doctor Phlox.

"Look- I can't believe this brain scan- he seems perfectly fine." Liz exclaimed at Trip. "The odd blip in places, but nothing major, nor really anything to worry about. This is such dangerous work, playing with the brain like this when we don't really understand it, but here we are- just look! Unbelievable!" She turned to him and gave a grin Phlox would have been proud of.

"That's you that is," Trip countered, "I'm just a humble engineer. But I know what you mean- I guess it must be a lot down to the fact that technology has advanced so much since that soldier had it done to him, and this isn't a war hospital either- it's all state o' the art." He paused, looking at the Denobulan, knowing that he should probably start relishing the quiet while he could. Malcolm was wrong- he may be loud-mouthed, but that didn't mean he didn't like the odd bit o' peace and quiet on occasion. "So when's he gonna wake up?" He asked Liz.

She turned to look at the doctor, then returned to the results on the screen in front of her, stretching her arms and shoulders as she did so. She could feel the last couple of days taking their toll. "Well, I think you and I both some real sleep first- at least four hours- acting doctors orders- and then when we wake up, we see how he's doing. If he hasn't woken up on his own, then we should wake him up and see from there. I don't like doing it, but we have the rest of the crew to think of before we can try this out again, and we really do need an actual doctor to check this work."

Trip nodded half-heartedly, the tiredness catching up with him also. "In tha' case, I'm gonna post someone who's still awake to watch over him while we're sleeping to keep an eye. Night Liz."

"Night Commander, see you soon."

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Even the dimmed lighting of his own sickbay assaulted his eyes as he struggled to open them, flickering as he did. After a few attempts, he finally managed to keep them open, although scrunched up slightly. He tried to raise a hand to his head, but was hindered by the sheet covering him, and also by an IV line attached to the back of his hand, or so it felt like. He put his hand back down, not wanting to disturb the tube. It was then that he realised that there was someone standing over him calling his name. Liz Cutler. He opened his mouth to say her name, to ask her what was going on, what had happened to him, but only a dry rasp emerged.

"How are you feeling doctor? Your vitals are all very strong, which is absolutely brilliant. Here, have some water."

She lifted the biobed to a relaxed sitting position, slowly, so it didn't stress his muscles which had lain unused for a couple of days. She propped him up with some pillows and withdrew the mask from his face which he hadn't even registered before. She then held a plastic cup up to him, and put the straw from it into his mouth. The cool liquid seemed like paradise. His mind started to clear. He noted he wasn't dehydrated, just had a very dry mouth, understandably. He leant away from the straw after a few sips and, feeling more awake, suddenly felt a huge appreciation for Liz Cutler. She was very capable, for which he was very grateful. He remembered what had happened previously, the little electric shock which had transferred from Ensign Sato to himself and the falling. He tried speaking again. "Ensign Sato...?" It came out as a croak, but Liz heard the question in the name.

"I'm afraid it's worse than that. Commander Tucker found the cause of the problem, and he's sorted it all out now, but we only worked it out because it got more than half of the crew first. We need a qualified doctor to check our work before we try on everyone else what we did on you."

Phlox opened his eyes wide, then screwed them shut and repeated to try and get rid of the sleepy feeling while he pushed himself further upright. "Where is everyone?" He reached a slightly shaky hand towards the water. Liz saw and beat him to it, holding the cup again for him as he drank.

"Hess and her team from Engineering found everyone- they tucked them all into their own beds to keep them safe. There are just too many people to put them all here. You, Ensign Sato and Sub-Commander T'Pol are the only ones in Sickbay now. The Sub-Commander is here for the same reason you are here I believe," she added.

She offered him the PADDs with her and Trip's work and findings on it. Phlox looked at her for a moment, only beginning to realise the enormity of the work she had had to cope with on her own, or nearly on her own since he had fallen sick. He looked down and took the PADDs from her outstretched hand. The Sickbay fell quiet as he looked through the work noting that both she and Commander Tucker deserved commendations for their findings. He would speak to the Captain. When he was awake, as he saw the name "Archer, Jonathan- Captain: Bridge" on one PADD.

He looked around to see Liz checking the IV bags connected to T'Pol and Hoshi. Yes, definitely a commendation at the very least. And a proper medical course for her to become a doctor maybe. As she wasn't paying attention to him for the moment, he took the opportunity to slip out of bed. He was feeling much better, and Lieutenant Reed was nowhere in sight to see the good doctor using one of his own escape tactics. _Besides_, Phlox reasoned as he removed the IV line, _I'm not escaping Sickbay, just the bed. And I'm needed_. He had fastened a dressing gown around him when Liz returned to his biobed. "Doctor! I didn't mean you had to get out of bed right now! You've not been awake that long-!"

He raised a hand to stall her, while he stepped into some slippers which were in a little closet full of Sickbay patient clothes. "Now then my dear, there is no time to lose- the work here looks in excellent form to me. I believe we can use the same treatment on each person, although we will need a team of people to assist- Engineering you say? Well we should request their help to bring patients from their rooms to here, then they can have the treatment and be returned to their room for recovery."

"But Doctor Phlox, you need to rest a little more!"

"Now, now- I will be just fine, may I have a little dinner brought here please while I work this out? Thankyou very much!" And he grinned at her, then turned and immersed himself in the data again.

Liz silenced a half amused and half exasperated sigh- doctors really _did_ make the worst patients.

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The actual process of bringing the crew from their rooms to the Sickbay, performing the electroconvulsive procedure, making sure their vital signs were stable, then returning them to their rooms went amazingly smoothly, considering that it meant that no-one could be under constant supervision because of it. So much could have gone wrong, but even in his newly-awoken state (although by this time, Phlox had been awake for nearly a day now, and not even half the unconscious crew were woken), Phlox had made sure that there were two people at all times to make rounds on the crew with medical scanners who had had the procedure already to make sure everything was going according to the hastily created plan. After fourteen hours of a constant shift, Phlox had to insist to Liz Cutler that she go have a rest. "After all my dear, you are no good to either me or the patients if you fall asleep in the middle of surgery. I insist you sleep for a full night- doctors orders. Sub-Commander T'Pol has been awake for the whole day, she will be on hand to assist me until you return- ah ah ah, goodnight Crewman." Phlox said, anticipating Liz's objections when she opened her mouth to object. "Pleasant dreams."

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When Liz awoke and returned to Sickbay, Phlox was munching away on a banana, courgette and mango chutney sandwich. She preferred to think that he had been to the kitchen and made that himself, rather than thinking that chef was awake and in an experimental mood- truth be told, she didn't really want to be eating a banana, courgette and mango chutney anything, not even a sandwich.

"Good morning Crewman!" Phlox greeted her as she walked over to him. "Very good work was done last night- the crew are all doing very well under the procedure you and Commander Tucker devised. I shall be sending these results on to Starfleet and the Denobulan Medical Institute- I believe there will be many people very interested in your work- you will probably be both called to many conferences. The various schools of medicine will no doubt be astounded that the basis of this work came from an engineering perspective!" The jolliness fell from his face though as he glanced over at the one bed still surrounded by a privacy curtain. "I'm afraid though that Ensign Sato was too far gone for this procedure. The electrolysis is too deeply set in for her to have this 'jump-start' as Commander Tucker so delicately put it." He stopped as the Sickbay doors opened and Archer strode in with T'Pol behind him.

Archer immediately looked towards the privacy curtain, and began pacing, looking at Phlox demandingly whenever he was facing him. "I am very appreciative your work Doctor, thankyou very much for treating me at the start and for waking up the rest of the crew, but what about Hoshi? I need my linguist."

Phlox thinned his lips slightly and put down the remainder of his sandwich so that the mango dripped slightly on to a PADD.

"As I was just telling Crewman Cutler just then, Ensign Sato's case is too far gone- her brain has been unused and has begun to suffer from cerebro-neurotropic breakdown. The procedure we have used for the rest of the crew won't work on her."

Archer actually stopped his pacing and turned to glare at Phlox. "And in English, that would be please doctor..?"

"Ensign Sato's brain and nervous system have suffered too much for this to be of any use to her. But I do have an alternative, although I'm afraid it is very risky and I wouldn't want to use it if I had any other option, but I don't believe that I have anymore Captain. I'm sorry."

Archer came right over to Phlox now, speaking directly to him, forgetting that T'Pol and Liz were there. "What is it Doctor? If it really is the only thing left to us, then if I have to order you to do it, then I will."

"Now then Captain, I didn't say I wouldn't use it, but I do want you to be aware of the danger involved in this procedure I'm offering." He got out of his chair and went to the storage cabinet with the nanobacteria in a stoppered test tube. He got it out and showed it to Archer. "You remember this Captain?"

"Yes, but I thought you said it was too dangerous," Archer said as he turned to Liz, remembering that she was there suddenly.

Liz shrugged slightly, but didn't even have the chance to get anything out before Phlox said over her,

"It _is_ dangerous Captain, but as I said, this is the only option we have left to my knowledge. Now then," Phlox continued as he turned to the computer screen to demonstrate what he was about to do to Hoshi- "These nanobacteria multiply at an incredible rate, as we know, but I have taken some of the enzymes from my own brain and I've managed to combine them with the nanobots so that they no longer reproduce. You remember, Captain, that I was able to control heal myself after the attack of those cyborgs by injecting these into my artery? That is what I have been working on to replicate here in this test tube- nanobacteria which have the ability to heal without multiplying and therefore taking over the host so that the hosts identity is taken over and destroyed. Obviously though, this has never been tested, hence the danger."

Archer was very still. "And this is the only option we have left Doctor? You're absolutely sure?"

Phlox crossed his arms. "I'm afraid so Captain. But she will be brain-dead if we don't try it. I am sorry."

A pained look came to Archer's eyes as he thought about the risk. He went over to the curtain and stepped around it to stand by Hoshi's bed. It was just the two of them- T'Pol, Phlox, and Liz stayed at the computer debating together the best way to begin the procedure. Archer reached his hand and rested it on Hoshi's cold hand, squeezing it gently. Sometimes he wished that he didn't have the ability to make friends so easily, nor have the desire to get to know his crew. It was so much more dangerous out here than they had ever expected it to be, and it killed him every time they were in deadly trouble- even more so when there was so little he could do about it to make it better.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead before stepping away and out to join the other three at the computer terminal.

"So what's the plan?" He asked with a confidence he didn't entirely feel.

"Well Captain," Phlox answered, "we take these enhanced nanobacteria I have experimented with and insert them into Ensign Sato's brain, and then use an electric shock directly into the cortex to stimulate the tissue. From there, I'm afraid we will have to wait and see. The brain should heal itself, although we will be monitoring her vitals closely with the Electrocorticogram."

Archer nodded. "Thankyou Doctor, I will be in my Ready Room- I want to be told about every single detail as it happens."

"Actually Captain," Phlox countered, "I want you to get some rest while we're doing this- you still haven't had enough rest since you woke up."

"Fine Doctor, I'll be in my room, resting, but I still want to know everything." Archer looked Phlox straight in the eye, and then turned and left abruptly, nodding towards, but not meeting the eyes of T'Pol and Liz as he passed them.

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Archer got back to his room and was greeted by a bouncing Porthos. He absently patted the Beagle's head and was given an almost reproachful look in return for the lack of appreciation.

Porthos returned to where he had been lying, waiting for his master's return as Archer took to pacing by the window where he wouldn't have to duck the bulkheads at each turn back and forth.

Archer glanced at the clock, willing it to go by faster than it was and then stared hard at the comm, waiting for a call from Sickbay. He did this time after time, the clock and the silence mocking him at each stare.

An hour passed, and he sat on his bed. He picked up the ball which was resting on the deck by the window and began bouncing it against the opposite wall.

Another hour passed and by now, still no word, he stopped playing with the ball and fell back against his pillow. He soon fell asleep.

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A buzzing assailed his ears constantly and wouldn't let up. He flung out an arm to turn off the alarm, but that did nothing as he hit it, then hit it again, harder. He opened an eye, then shot out of bed as he woke up fully and realised it was the comm buzzing, not his alarm.

He found the button for the comm. "Archer here!"

Doctor Phlox's voice came from the machine. "Captain, you are wanted in Sickbay."

"On my way," Archer replied, leaving immediately, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair.

He made it to Sickbay in record time.

"Doctor! What's up?" He demanded as soon as he walked through the doors. He strode to Phlox who was by the computer terminal, where Archer had last seen him.

Phlox smiled at him.

"It seems we were most successful Captain! Ensign Sato is recovering nicely. These are her neural patterns on the screen, which are almost back to normal! This has been more successful than I admit even I had hoped for."

He allowed Archer a few moments to look at Hoshi's normal brain scans from before entering the Exapnse, her scans from after she became ill, and her latest scans. Archer pointed at the new scans.

"But these are a bit different from her original patterns Phlox."

Phlox turned to regard the new scans thoughtfully. "Yes, they are Captain. We won't know exactly how different until she wakes up and after much observation, but I am almost certain that she will be her normal self again."

Phlox moved away from the screen to turn to feed his menagerie. Archer had to admit that he felt a bit relieved at this normal, everyday action. It seemed to him that if Phlox was doing this, then there was no real danger to Hoshi.

"There is an interesting observation I did note Captain." Phlox piped up again as he dropped something vaguely slug-like into the bat's cage. "The average human uses about ten per cent of their brain capacity. Ensign Sato is now using fifteen per cent. Not a vast difference, and not totally unexpected when using these nanobacteria, but she might discover an increase of her ESP rating." Phlox suddenly stopped for a second. "Ah, this Captain, is her Extra-Sensory Perception. She may show some abilities that the average human might regard as supernatural. But as this is only fifteen per cent extra, I can't see this becoming a problem for Ensign Sato or the crew. It is just something to keep an eye on. It would be very interesting to record, if Ensign Sato would allow me- a medical first!" Phlox smiled in anticipated glee.

Archer smiled back, feeling even more relieved than he had before, and he relaxed, suddenly feeling very hungry- he hadn't eaten in ages. "Keep me informed Doctor. And well done." He looked around. "Where are Liz and T'Pol?"

Phlox put his creatures' food containers away, and sucked his fingers of the residue from feeding them, which made Archer screw his nose up slightly. "I sent them for some dinner themselves. You would no doubt find them in the Mess Hall when you get there. They've not been long gone." Archer thanked him again and was about to leave when Phlox spoke up again. "Actually Captain, it had occurred to me that the Sub-Commander has some Vulcan talent involving psychic training of some kind. You might allow the Sub-Commander and Ensign Sato to have some time together in case the Ensign needs any help if she does discover any abilities."

Archer frowned. "Vulcan talent with psychic training?"

Doctor Phlox nodded. "Yes Captain- the Sub-Commander was actually knocked unconscious before the majority of people on the ship were, or so she informed me. It would seem that she was using this psychic ability she called a 'mind-meld' that she had come across to help Ensign Sato, and the electrical charge was transmitted between their minds. Fascinating, this business with Neuroscience. I will have to attend a conference on Denobula for the Inter-Species Medical Institute. It will, I'm sure, be a significant and important find for the future."

Archer left him there, debating with himself how he could lecture on psychic anomalies and the increase of brain function...

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About a month later, Archer sat on the Bridge, with the familiar sound of _Enterprise_'s engines humming contentedly in the background. He glanced around at his crew getting on with their duties. Malcolm peering intently at his console, ready for the sign of any possible threat, no matter how quiet it had been since the episode with the electrical cloud which they had named the 'Cutler Anomaly', as Liz had contributed so much to the crew's health, and at Trip's insistence. Trip himself was standing at the Engineering console at the back of the Bridge, sharing a joke with Crewman Jones next to him. T'Pol looked over at him disapprovingly, but didn't say anything. Archer had a slight suspicion she liked the camaraderie shared on the Bridge. And Travis was telling a story to Hoshi, who was sitting at her console, smiling patiently back at the helmsman. She had had very few complaints after her treatment, although she was still on half-day shifts and had to have therapy with both Phlox and T'Pol, but she was her old self, although Phlox had been correct in his observation that she had an increased brain ability, but as of yet, they hadn't seen any adverse effect.

Archer smiled to himself and sat back in his chair.

It was good to have them all back.

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Kudos to anyone who recognises the significance of Hoshi having increased psychic ability!


End file.
